Opera Columbus has announced that Sarah Dahnke will be its second Crane Directing Fellow.

Dahnke is a choreographer, dance artist, arts educator, and the artistic director of Dances for Solidarity who has received commissions from PEN America and A Studio in the Woods. She has also held residences at Abron Arts Center and Brooklyn Studios for Dance. She created a dance film work that screened with such organizations as the Dance Films Association, Tiny Dance Film Festival, DanceBarn Collective, BRIC, and Movies By Movers.

In her role, Dahnke will assist on mainstage productions of “La Cenerentola,” “Maria de Buenos Aires,” and “Rigoletto.” She will also direct the education tour. In 2023-24, she will direct a mainstage production.

“As the opera industry continues to work toward greater equity and diversity, we at Opera Columbus knew that our greatest potential for impact was to create direct opportunities to support and train BIPOC stage directors,” saidJulia Noulin-Mérat, General Director + CEO of Opera Columbus, in an official press statement. “This fellowship provides a paid opportunity for these artists to gain direct experience working on mainstage productions, and we couldn’t be more fortunate in our second year than to welcome the brilliant Sarah Dahnke to the company.”